


New Beginnings (Jamweek 2)

by AbelQuartz



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), College, Crying, F/M, Fluff, Future, Haircuts, Hurt/Comfort, I Love You, Romance, connverse - Freeform, jambudweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23984659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbelQuartz/pseuds/AbelQuartz
Summary: A couple days after Connie's graduation, the Jam Buds talk about the future.A short for #Jambudweek 2!
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	New Beginnings (Jamweek 2)

The star’s trail vanished in an instant.

“And I wish…” Steven said, “I wish that I hadn’t proposed to you when we were teenagers.”

“Steven, that’s not a wish.”

“Yes it is! I said ‘I wish,’ right at the beginning.”

“That’s a regret. You have to wish for something to come true in the future.”

“Alright, well, I wish you’d get a degree in wish-ology or something instead of political science so that you could be more accurate in correcting me.”

“And I wish for you to stop being such a butthead.”

Steven snorted in laughter as Connie pushed her fist into his arm. The field in front of them was empty now, echoless and green, still strewn with the occasional crimson banner from the celebrations of the weekend. The Jayhawk graduation ceremony had been pleasantly sunny, and the night sky now reflected the vastness of the summer to come.

There had been so many parties. Connie’s sorority had thrown a luncheon, there was a warp party back home with all the Gems, and all of Connie’s extended family had come out for a hotel celebration and dinner and a dance. Out of all the gifts, the Gems had cobbled together the most impressive, in collaboration with the Diamonds: a true communicator, linked to Connie’s DNA, that she could use to ask the Diamonds any question at any time about being political leaders. None of Connie’s family had understood, of course, but that was the nature of the beast. White had been the first to congratulate Connie, asking her when she was going to stake her claim on the planet Earth as its own benevolent overlord. Right now, the communicator was tucked away somewhere safe from interruptions.

Everything was safe from them now. Steven ran his fingers over the side of his head, where the undercut had buzzed him down to his roots. He had changed his hairstyle several times over the course of the years since leaving Beach City, but he liked a little pomp, a little bad-boy style, something modern. The blonde streaks had long since faded, the last memories of his punk scene. He was back to jeans and a sweatshirt, a pricey purchase from the Jayhawk bookstore, but it was comfy enough. Connie’s flowered blouse was borrowed from a sister. She had introduced Connie to so many bubbly women in her house, so much sound and gushing and squealing over Connie’s boyfriend. The quiet was relaxing.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” Connie said. 

“Well, you’re still planning on grad school, right?”

“I’m actually deferring my acceptance. Pacific really wants me to come to their low-res out in Sequoia, but I just got my job here. You remember Taylor, right?”

“The one with the cat!”

“Yeah! She’s helping to organize some of the seniors to get rent and housing and all that junk. So I might have a housemate and actually get this analyst position.”

“The world of paperwork. I’ll never go through that again.”

“Well, mister, I’ll be the organized one around here for both of us.”

They giggled together, and Steven pulled Connie closed, a hand around her waist. She leaned against him naturally and rubbed her head against his shoulder. Steven had been so surprised the first time he had visited and discovered he was a couple inches taller than Connie. It didn’t feel natural in the beginning, and he had accidentally shapeshifted down to her height on a whim. Entering his twenties after a little growth spurt was strange, but Connie had talked him down from feeling awkward about it. He was still just the right size that his body wanted to be. Growing up had never been natural for him, but now, he had to let things go.

The years had had their fair share of kindness and cruelty all the same. Connie’s schooling had gone smoothly, with the help of her parents and her scholarship, and Steven had explored all of the states and even gotten his passport to drive into the north. After his road trip, the Dondai had taken a break as Steven did his warp tour, traveling from pad to pad and learning how to survive in other cultures. He had survived a political unrest in a major military encampment, a lone Gem attack and structural collapse in northern Asia, nearly starving to death outside the desert, a severely broken leg after a horse riding accident, and getting lost on a schooner in the Mediterranean sea. There were enough adventures to start writing his book, stowed away in his laptop, and he had finally hit one hundred pages. Writing came naturally after all the characters he had met and the things he had seen. He could track the wonders of the world and still find his way back home.

Home was different, with his father and his new life with the Gems, starting a little Beach City band and teaching music at Little Homeworld. Management of Sadie Miller had taken a break after her second EP following his diagnosis. He expressed his thanks to Steven for returning home, but his financial situation allowed him to make the lifestyle adjustments and treatments to continue strong. He looked better than ever when he came out for graduation, even if his hair was graying significantly. Steven wondered what traits he would get from his father as he aged, if they would even show up.

“But after grad school, I think we can start to think about the future more,” Connie said.

“The future? We’re already in the future. You’ve graduated!”

“That’s not what I mean, Steven.”

The young woman wrapped herself around Steven’s arm and heaved a gentle sigh. Whether or was anxiety or exasperation, Steven couldn’t tell.

“I want to think about our future,” Connie murmured. “I want to think about us, together. It’s important to me that we have something planned.”

“Like a wedding? I-I mean, I sorta entrusted Garnet to that when I left, but that’s been years at this point, I think I can get myself together again for that. Gosh, that book was filled up, I —”

“Steven.”

Connie straightened up, and Steven turned to look her in the eye. His heart tightened when he saw the tears floating around her cheeks, the watery gaze as she blinked, Connie looked down, her cheeks reddening in the faded lights of the stadium. Steven opened his mouth again, but he didn’t know what to say.

“The hardest part of growing up was saving my love for you,” Connie choked, “because it was so constant, so...consistent, it felt like it was inevitable, and that goes against everything that happened around me. I’ve had people younger than me get married already, in school! I’ve seen so many breakups and so many relationships start, and so many volatile arguments and questions and I knew that I had someone saved for me, all this time. It’s awful. It didn’t feel human to have someone like you. It still doesn’t. Steven, you’re a fairy tale.”

She smiled as a tear began to flow over her cheek. Steven shut his mouth and turned his body, holding Connie’s hand. She lifted the other and wiped her face, choking out a little giggle as she shook her head. 

“All this time. All this time and we’re still together. I want to feel good but I’m so nervous, all the time.”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Steven said. “I’m nervous, too. I was wondering about you finding someone else when you were at school. I thought you’d experiment, just a little. And it would break my heart but I had to let you go.”

“I never let you go, Steven. Because you never let me go. And you know what? It’s easier than I could ever have imagined. That’s the scary part.”

“What’s scary about it?”

“To know that it’s true,” Connie said, “that a person can love another person so much. That I can feel that kind of love for someone. It’s more than I can bear.”

Steven knew why he was crying, too. Everything that Connie had put into words had been in his head for years. Every journey he had taken, he had kept a piece of Connie inside of him. The world was full of his feelings now, traces he had left of his soul, each piece entwined with Connie from continent to continent. Spreading his love for her over the world had led him in a leyline back to here, back to her. It had felt overwhelming when he was too young to understand, and it was overwhelming now. 

“Then I’ll carry it too,” Steven whispered, his voice cracking. “I’ll do it for you. I’ll do anything for you.”

“I know, Steven.”

“...I love you, Connie.”

“I —” Connie smiled. “I love you too.”

They didn’t need a kiss right now. Steven lowered his head, and Connie did as well, until their foreheads were touching and their eyes were closed. The last tears fell onto their hands as they clasped them together. 

Was it solemnity? Was it relief? Steven felt something uniquely American about the whole experience, about this moment in time. It was an unquantifiable feeling about the future and where they were going to live. In his head, the young man could picture himself growing old, and Connie’s presence was there whether or not he was along. Life would be so much better with her body there. Her body here was warm. Her hands were as steady as when they had held his mother’s sword. Their future was bound to this planet, to this country, to the culture in which they had grown up and found feelings for one another. There was comfort, knowing that the massive changes to their life would result in a continuation of what they already knew.

Most importantly, they knew each other. They knew the pressure of each other’s skin, head to head, learning against one another until Steven could feel his skull’s crevices in Connie’s touch. Weight ached against his eyebrows and spread down through his temples. He could bear it forever. The summer warmth simmered on the metal seats of the bleachers. There wasn’t another soul around. In the tightness of the arena, they were the only two hearts beating.


End file.
